Lumberton, NC —For generations, Alicia Buie’s house in Lumberton was a place of safety, full of cherished family memories. But when Hurricanes Matthew and Florence hit one after the other, she could only watch helplessly as the storms destroyed her home. “We had so much rain, and it caused a lot of flooding,” Alicia recalled. “The roof got messed up real bad, but I didn’t realize how bad it was inside. We had mold all in between the roof and the ceiling. It was a mess.”
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Shannon, NC – For seven years, Chasity Locklear’s mobile home was where she built treasured memories with her son. That is, until Hurricane Matthew destroyed both her home and sense of security. “It was terrifying. I didn’t know it was that close until the power went out,” she says. “I’d never experienced anything like that. Being without water for weeks, no electricity, trying to find gas and food.”
Orrum, NC – When Hurricane Matthew hit, Teresa Floyd and her family had to flee the house they had lived in for more than 20 years. They returned to find their beloved home destroyed, with broken windows, roof damage and floors ruined from leaks. “We just had to live with it,” Teresa says. “We had been rejected from an assistance program, so we were hoping we could fix it all ourselves.”
Maxton, NC – Some experiences can be too traumatic to remember in detail. For Rena Locklear, Hurricane Matthew was one of them. Her memories of the storm itself are blurry, but she remembers clearly the destruction left behind. “The water damage was the worst. It affected the whole house, from underneath to the roof,” she says. “After the storm, mold and mildew began growing in the walls.” Yet Locklear remained in her home, as she had nowhere else to live.
Lumberton, NC – When Hurricane Matthew ripped through Lumberton, Morris Love didn’t just lose his home, he lost part of his family.“I’m a foster parent,” Morris explained. “I had two little boys with me when the storm hit.”He said they were stuck in their home, and all they were able to do was watch as the weather went from bad to worse.“By the grace of God, a helicopter flew over,” Morris recounted.
Fairmont, NC – Jennifer Hunt is familiar with the storms of life. After helping her husband battle cancer twice, she felt she could weather anything, until Hurricane Matthew battered their home.“It was very, very rough,” Hunt describes. “We rode out the storm in the house. When we came out, the water was very high and about to go into our vehicles.”When the storm passed, Hunt realized how extensive the damage truly was.“We had trees coming into the house and water coming in from the ceiling,” she says.
Lumberton, NC – When Gregory Bradley was five years old, he moved into a house his parents built. He was still living there 47 years later when Hurricane Matthew caused a nearby river to overflow.“Water poured into the house from every direction,” Bradley says. “It reached chest high.” He and his family were evacuated to a local high school where they stayed for a month before returning home to find most of their possessions and much of their house destroyed.
Saint Pauls, NC – Soon after Hurricane Matthew passed over Saint Pauls, MaDolores Robles-Galvan tried to walk out her front door — but couldn’t. “The winds had shifted the entire house,” she says. “The doors were jammed. My granddaughters and I were trapped inside for hours.”
Lumberton, NC – Cheryl Oxendine had no idea that Hurricane Matthew would flood her home so quickly. “By the time the water started rising, it was too late to get out of the neighborhood,” Oxendine says. She fled to a neighbor’s home, which was dry. “We sat in the dark all night, until the storm was over.”
Fairmont, NC – When John R. Locklear saw water rising outside his house as Hurricane Matthew pounded the area, he did not risk waiting for the roads to flood. “My family jumped in our truck and took off as fast as we could,” he says.After they returned home, Locklear discovered that the water had also moved inside the house. “We had more than a foot of water throughout the whole place,” he says. “Everything below that water line was destroyed.”